[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29692-29693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14713]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8921-8]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office Notification of an Upcoming 
Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Ecological Processes and Effects 
Committee

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public meeting of the SAB 
Ecological Processes and Effects Committee to provide advice on EPA's 
implementation of the Ecosystem Services Research Program.

DATES: The meeting dates are Tuesday, July 14, 2009 from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m. (Eastern Time) and Wednesday, July 15, 2009 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 
noon (Eastern Time).

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the SAB Conference Center, 1025 
F Street, NW., Room 3705, Washington, DC 20004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Members of the public who wish to 
obtain further information about this meeting must contact Dr. Thomas 
Armitage, Designated Federal Officer (DFO). Dr. Armitage may be 
contacted at the EPA Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
or via telephone/voice mail; (202) 343-9995; fax (202) 233-0643; or e-
mail at [email protected]. Any inquiry regarding EPA's Ecosystem 
Services Research Program should be directed to Dr. Rick Linthurst of 
EPA's Office of Research and Development at [email protected] or 
(919) 541-4909. General information about the EPA SAB, as well as any 
updates concerning the meeting announced in this notice, may be found 
on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the SAB Ecological 
Processes and Effects Committee will hold a public meeting to provide 
consultative comment on implementation of EPA's Ecosystem Services 
Research Program. The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide 
independent scientific and technical advice to the Administrator on the 
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The SAB is a 
Federal Advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. 2. The SAB will comply 
with the provisions of FACA and all appropriate SAB Staff Office 
procedural policies.
    Background: In February 2008, The EPA Office of Research and 
Development (ORD) released a draft Ecological Research Program Multi-
Year Plan that established EPA's long-term and annual goals for 
ecological research. This draft Multi-Year Plan is available on the EPA 
Office of Research and Development Web site at http://epa.gov/ord/esrp/pdfs/ERP-MYP-complete-draft-v5.pdf. The Multi-Year Plan described a new 
direction for the Agency's Ecological Research Program intended to fill 
the need for a better understanding of the implications of human 
impacts on ecosystems and the services they provide. The redirected 
Ecological Research Program is building on past research efforts in 
ecosystem monitoring, restoration, and functioning to develop 
operational methods for incorporating quantitative information on 
ecosystem services into decision making.
    In 2008 the SAB Ecological Processes and Effects Committee reviewed 
EPA's draft Ecological Research Program Multi-year Plan. The findings 
and recommendations of that SAB review are available on the SAB Web 
site at http://www.epa.gov/sab (see report EPA-SAB-08-011). The SAB 
Staff Office selected several additional SAB committee members with 
expertise in valuing ecosystem services to augment the expertise on the 
Ecological Processes and Effects Committee for that advisory activity.
    The ORD has requested further consultation with the SAB regarding 
the implementation of the Ecosystem Services Research program. This 
consultation will be conducted by the augmented SAB Ecological 
Processes and Effects Committee. The purpose of the upcoming meeting of 
this Committee is to provide consultative advice on the current 
direction of high priority areas of the Ecosystem Services Research 
Program and the specific research projects that have been undertaken. 
The roster and biosketches of Committee members are posted on the SAB 
Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
    Availability of Meeting Materials: The meeting agenda, charge to 
the SAB Committee, and other meeting material will be posted on the SAB 
Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab in advance of the meeting.
    Procedures for Providing Public Input: Interested members of the 
public may submit relevant written or oral

[[Page 29693]]

information on the topic of this advisory activity, and/or the group 
conducting the activity, for the SAB to consider during the advisory 
process.
    Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an 
oral presentation at a public meeting will be limited to five minutes 
per speaker, with no more than a total of one hour for all speakers. 
Interested parties should contact Dr. Armitage, DFO, in writing 
(preferably via e-mail) at the contact information noted above by July 
6, 2009 to be placed on a list of public speakers for the meeting. 
Written Statements: Written statements should be received in the SAB 
Staff Office by July 6, 2009 so that the information may be made 
available to the SAB Committee members for their consideration. Written 
statements should be supplied to the DFO in the following formats: one 
hard copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail 
(acceptable file format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS 
PowerPoint, or Rich Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format). 
Submitters are requested to provide two versions of each document 
submitted with and without signatures, because the SAB Staff Office 
does not publish documents with signatures on its Web sites.
    Accessibility: For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Dr. Armitage at the phone 
number or e-mail address noted above, preferably at least ten days 
prior to the meeting to give EPA as much time as possible to process 
your request.

    Dated: June 16, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-14713 Filed 6-22-09; 8:45 am]
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